1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a numerical control method for forming a circular arc on a cylindrical surface of a cylindrical workpiece.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, it has been known to utilize a linear interpolation function of a numerical control unit to effect simultaneous control concerning a rotation axis and a linear axis of a machine tool. Using this function, a tool and a cylindrical workpiece, respectively mounted on the machine tool, are moved relative to each other along a desired machining locus, to thereby form a circular arc on a cylindrical surface of the workpiece. According to the above-mentioned conventional method, however, it is required to set machining conditions for a respective one of a plurality of sections obtained by finely dividing the machining locus. As a consequence, a program for effecting the circular arc machining on the cylindrical workpiece consists of complicated statements. This requires effort for preparation of the program. On the other hand, if a dividing number of the machining locus is decreased for ease of preparation of the program, a drawback occurs in that machining accuracy decreases.